Strategic priority 5 - Develop our people
Our staff set a standard for excellence, and are dedicated and creative in the delivery of services. We’re immensely proud of the record of achievement that colleagues have set in the 30 years since the British Library’s foundation, and their commitment to meeting the challenges created by the new information environment. We aim to be an employer of choice, attracting and retaining talent; we strive to act as an exemplar in the library community in developing the skills and expertise of our staff.
Key area - Aligning our skills with our strategy
Actions and benefits
- Build effective leadership at all levels to help us embrace change. For example,
all middle and senior management are taking part in a development programme with this focus. - Review skill requirements corporately and address gaps by both developing and recruiting appropriate staff.
- Collaborate with other major libraries to redefine the roles of our curators and
science information experts, ensuring the right balance of expertise needed to meet the challenges raised by new research techniques and the expectations of new audiences.
Key area - Strengthen our culture so we can deliver our strategy
Actions and benefits
- Reinforce our programme of cultural change to strengthen our organisational values:
- Improve communication and consultation.
- Empower staff.
- Enable agile decision-making.
- Recognise the importance of everybody’s contribution.
- Use strong performance management to consolidate our progress.
- Work in partnership with the Trade Unions to build a sustainable organisation.
- Instil a ‘One Library’ service culture throughout the organisation, ensuring that all staff in touch with users can guide them to the full range of relevant services and help them derive maximum benefit from their contact with the Library.
- Standardise staff use of our new competency-based performance management
system that promotes the corporate and role behaviours needed in an organisation focused on service. - Monitor the progress of, and responses to, the cultural change in the Library
using regular colleague opinion surveys.
Key area - Become an employer of choice
Actions and benefits
- Increase opportunities for career development through initiatives such as
secondment, role-shadowing and project work. - Increase the flexibility of our employment model and modernise the package
of terms and conditions we offer to enable us to attract and retain the best people. - Build a diverse workforce which encourages people from minority groups to choose a career in the Library.
